Penholder.



Patented Sapt. 4, I900.

G. C. WARD.

PENHGLDER.

(Application filed Aug. 18, 1899.)

(No Model.

l wi/twmm "he: cums PG'ERS wJwru-umo, WIGHINGTON. n. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE OOOPER ARD,- F FORT WORTH, TEXAS.

PENHHOLDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 657,370, dated September 4, 1900.

Application filed August 1s,1s99.; Serial No. 727,663. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern a 'Be it known that I, GEORGE COOPER WARD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Fort Worth, in the county of Tarrant and Stateofj Texas, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Penholders; andIdo declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the figures of reference marked thereon, which form It has also for its object to provide a penholder which will consist in part of a staff or barrel and in part of a loop or bow, the two parts being hinged together, so that when folded one upon the other the pen or pen-point will be protected by the loop or bow, which will serve as a guard or shield for the same, and when unfolded the staff or barrel and loop or bow willconstitute the penholder of thedesired length for ease and comfort in writing.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and such other objects as may hereinafter appear the invention consists in the construction and also in the combination of parts hereinafterparticularly described and then sought to be specifically defined by the claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof, and in which- Figure 1 is a plan view of the penholder in its unfolded or open position. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the penholder in its folded or closed position, and Fig. 3 is a side view showing the position of the penholder when in use.

In the drawings the numeral 1 designates the staff or barrel portion of the penholder, adapted to carry the pen-point 2 and which may be any approved fountain-pen, pattern or may be of any ordinary penholder style without the fountain feature.

The numeral 3 designates the loop or bow of the penholder and which is pivoted or unfolded position ready for use.

hinged to the staff or barrel portion by the rivets or pins 4; passing through the prongs 5 of the loop or bow and into the body of the barrel or staff or otherwise suitably hinged thereto. The loop or bow may be made of springbrass, nickel, or steel wire or other suitable metal, or may be hard rubber or other suitable substance, and when the prongs of the loop 1 spread apart for the insertion of 1 scope of my invention.

In practice I prefer to make the length of the staff or barrel two and One-fourth inches from end to end and the length of the loop or how two and o11e-fourth inches from the end of the staff to the end of the how when unfolded, thus making the length of the penholder four and one-half inches when in its The length of the prongs to the loop or bow I prefer to make one inch from the point where they leave the bow or loop proper to their free ends, and the width of the bow at its widest point I prefer to make one inch. The proportions stated have been found to be most suitable as a standard size for the parts of a penholder; but such proportions can be varied,,as the invention is notlimited to such dimensions. I also prefer to slightly concave the inner faces of the prongs, sothat they will conform to the shape of the staffer barrel in cross-section,but

if the barrel and the prongs should be flattened at their meeting faces or Otherwise formed such change would be within the scope of the invention. I may also slightly deflect the loop or how from a line parallel with the length of the barrel to make the penholder conform more nearly to the shape or contour of the hand when in use. In use the staff and bow are opened or unfolded and the forefinger passed through the bow orloop, as illustrated in Fig. 3. This brings the staff or barrel directly under the forefinger with its upper end terminating at or near the second joint of the finger, while one side of the loop or bow lies outside of the finger from that point up to about the knuckle of the ICO I hand, thus conforming the penholder to the shape of the finger without throwingupon the finger any strain calculated to fatigue it or the hand and allowing freedom and ease to the fingers in the formation of letters,-so-

that in the use of this penholder, with little use of the same, rapidity and legibility in handwriting can be easily acquired. When I the penholder is not in use, the loop orbow portion can be folded upon the staff or barrel so as to bring the bow over the pen-point, as illustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawings, thus constituting a shield or guard to the pen-pointand permitting the penholder to be carried in the pocket and without occupying much.

space. The bow or loop will also prevent the penholder the desk. I r

I preferto have the loop or how formed so as to lie on both sides of the finger when the finger is insertedthrough the same, or on both sides of the staif or barrel when folded;

but if a portion of one side of the loop should be omitted certain featu resof my invention would still be retained; but-I consider it best to have the loop continued all the way around,

as the penholder is then held steadier and better results are obtained.

I have illustrated and describedwhat I consider to be the best form of the invention;

but changes can be made therein and essential features of my invention still be retained.

It is also obvious that the barrel portion of from rolling when laid down ,on'

the holder maybe formed to receive a crayon or. pencil instead of a pen-point and the holder used in the same way as when a penpoint is employed, and such change or'sub- "stitutionis within the spirit of the invention. Having described my invention and set forth its merits, what I claim is- 1. A pencil'or pen holder consisting of a Stafiorbarrel formed atone end to receive a marking-point and at the opposite end provided with an elongated loop, the opposite walls of said loop diverging from eachother "next to the statf and then converging toward each other in the direct-ion of theouter end of the loop, substantially as described.

2. As a new article of manufacture, a pencil or pen holderconsisting essentially of an elongated loopadapted toreceive the forefinger, and a staif or barrel formed at one "end to receive a marking-point, said barrel being pivoted to one endof the loop so that when thrown outward the portionof thebarrel beyond its'pivotal connection tothe loop will constitute a support for the forefinger passing through theloop and a bearing for the thumb and second finger in guiding the marking-point, substantially as described.

In testimony whereofI affix my signature inpresence of two witnesses. it r GEORGE COOPER WARD.

Witnesses: a J. C. BRANUM;

J. A. COATES. 

